Archives

Monday 7 September 2009

The NSW Opposition has called for the case surrounding the death of Michael McGurk to be investigated by the ICAC. Police and the ICAC are meeting this afternoon to discuss the suggestion, and allegations that a tape implicates some state Labor MPs in a bribery scandal. More

Federal Parliament has resumed, and the Government's economic stimulus strategy will dominate debate. While the Government has been buoyed by the G20's call for stimulus spending to continue, the Opposition is promising to highlight examples of waste and mismanagement. More

The ANZ Bank's latest job ads survey has positive news for the Federal Government. It shows the number of job advertisements rose in August, the first monthly increase since April 2008. And while the construction industry is still shrinking, the pace of decline appears to have eased. More

Two doctors working in Queensland's hospital system have admitted they made mistakes that contributed to the deaths of patients because they were overworked. A survey commissioned by a doctors' union has revealed some doctors are working for 72 hours without a break. More

A public servant is facing the possibility of another conviction for leaking unauthorised information. Allan Kessing has already been convicted for leaking details of lax security at Sydney airport to the media. Now he's admitted he also gave information to the then Federal Opposition. More

UNICEF has backed one of its Australian employees who's been ordered to leave Sri Lanka, accused of being a mouthpiece for Tamil rebels. James Elder regularly spoke to the media during the final days of the war in May, when civilians were trapped on the battlefield. More

The leaders of Germany, the UK and France have called for a high-level international conference on Afghanistan to be held before the end of this year. The call comes as results from almost 450 polling booths are annulled in Afghanistan's presidential election following investigations into allegations of fraud. More

A South Australian academic says there's no evidence to support the Northern Territory's new policy for schools to teach in English only for the first four hours of the day. The Government says the changes will help improve numeracy and literacy standards for Indigenous students. More

An Australian National University study suggests the Commonwealth environmental regulator is not enforcing the environmental conditions it sets when it approves projects. The study showed more than 60 per cent of companies surveyed had not been followed up by the Commonwealth. The mining industry says the report shows the Commonwealth is duplicating the role of state and territory regulators. More

A study for the Salvation Army shows many Australians got a taste for alcohol at an early age and that the new guidelines on safe drinking levels aren't well known. The salvos say there should be a public awareness campaign. More

A committee of leading health experts has warned the free national mammogram service, BreastScreen, is overloaded and overstretched. They've recommended it restrict its free testing to women most at-risk of getting breast cancer. The proposed plan would see women younger than 45 refused free mammograms. More

It's a 250-kilometre journey across rough seas from Tasmania to mainland Australia but two Melbourne men say it will only take them 10 hours to make the crossing on their kite boards. The pair are aiming to become the first people to kite surf across Bass Strait. More